Reverse Osmosis in Laguna Beach

Drink the Cleanest, Best-Tasting Water Possible with McKeown Plumbing

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the most powerful form of water filtration. Not only does it aid in removing foul tastes, odors, and colors, but it also removes organic and inorganic compounds, including nitrates, sodium, some pesticides, minerals, and chemicals.

As a water filtration system, RO can keep your water tasting clean and crisp. McKeown Plumbing can help you install a reverse osmosis water filtration system anywhere in Orange County. Whether you want a point-of-use system or whole-house filtration, we have you covered.

Get bottled water quality at home. Call us at (949) 497-1108 today!

What is Reverse Osmosis?

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

“Reverse osmosis is a process which uses a membrane under pressure to separate relatively pure water (or other solvent) from a less pure solution.”

By running water through a synthetic lining, RO filters out unwanted molecules and large particles, like salt, chlorine, and dirt. The process can also remove microorganisms from your water, so only pure H20 is left behind.

How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?

Reverse osmosis works using applied pressure. Under pressure, osmosis behaves backward, so particles concentrate on one side of the filter instead of spreading throughout the water like they would in osmosis. Another way to think of reverse osmosis is as distillation (the process of removing particles from a liquid via heating and cooling) but with pressure and membranes instead of temperature and evaporation.

Fortunately, you do not have to understand exactly how osmosis, reverse osmosis, or even distillation work in order to have a reverse osmosis water filtration system installed in your home.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Reverse Osmosis?

Reverse osmosis is great for drinking water and the water you cook with because it removes volatile compounds and minerals. Because minerals are the strongest promoter in flavoring water, RO can significantly improve the way your water tastes.

Removing minerals can also help enhance chemical reactions during cooking, baking, making tea, and brewing coffee, so RO can help you get the full sensory experience.

Overall, the benefits of reverse osmosis include:

  • RO removes the smallest impurities from water, including microorganisms and organic compounds

  • RO removes the widest spectrum of contaminants of any water treatment process

  • RO removes chlorine and chloramine, arsenic, nitrate and nitrite, PFOA/PFAS, lead, sodium, radioactivity, and more

  • RO has the highest salt rejection rates (>99%)

Unfortunately, reverse osmosis is not as simple as some other water filtration systems. The drawbacks of reverse osmosis include:

  • Water becomes slightly acidic due to the deionization of all the mineral content

  • RO can be hard on certain materials in pipes and appliances because water with high pH can strip them and re-contaminate the water

  • RO systems can waste water to produce water (though some systems have lower wastewater rates)

  • The process of RO takes a lot of energy (the system uses electricity to produce pressure to cause deionization)

  • RO systems are highly sensitive to pH and water temperature

Fortunately, you can solve many of the problems with RO systems by adding an alkaline filter. This can correct the pH of the water and prevent recontamination and other pH problems.

Which Is Better: Point-of-Use Filtration or Whole-House Filtration?

Point-of-use (POU) filtration is water that is filtered at the point of use, or the faucet. Whole-house filtration is water that is filtered as it is coming into the home, so purified water is delivered to all home appliances.

Both filtration systems are valuable in different ways. In most cases, it is more practical to purchase a whole-home carbon filtration system and a POU system for drinking water and water you use in the kitchen (ice water, water for cooking and making beverages, etc.).

Nevertheless, some situations may call for a whole-home RO system. You may want to purchase a whole-home RO system if you are dealing with highly contaminated water or simply want the highest quality filtered water. Keep in mind that whole-home systems waste much more water.

Even in the most efficient systems, 20% of the water in RO systems goes down the drain as wastewater. If you have a whole-home system, you will also need to purchase an alkaline filter, so your water does not leech or strip piping – and so your water does not get contaminated.

Choose Your Reverse Osmosis System

At McKeown Plumbing, we are proud to offer both POU reverse osmosis systems and whole-home RO systems. Learn more about your options below:

Aquaporin Inside ZERO

The Aquaporin Inside ZERO is a compact point-of-use RO system the size of a briefcase. It is the only membrane in the industry that uses aquaporins – “nature’s own filter” – to filter drinking water.

The device features:

  • Beautiful and compact design
  • No electricity required
  • Delivers 3L /minute of completely filtered drinking water
  • 10-minute recover time
  • Works in low-pressure situations
  • Removes pesticides, viruses, and bacteria
  • Clean, great-tasting drinking water
  • Enhanced tea and coffee taste
  • 50% recovery rate with built-in booster pump and tankless design

Aquaporins are the proteins responsible for transporting and purifying water in all living cells, which require less energy and lead to enhanced filtration capabilities, more efficiency, less water waste, and higher flow rates.

The Aquaporin Inside ZERO costs $950, and the pre- and post-filters cost $175 and need to be replaced every 12 months. Membrane replacements are recommended every 2 to 3 years and priced at $250.

Penguin All-American RO

The Penguin All-American RO is a whole-house reverse osmosis system that reduces wastewater by re-filtering the water used got RO to use as much water as possible and waste as little as possible. With a built-in UV system, the Penguin All-American RO ensures protection from bacteria and viruses. The device’s sediment filter protects your membranes to give them a longer lifespan.

The benefits of the Penguin All-American RO include:

  • Antiscalant option for hard water

  • Comes equipped with sediment pre-filter

  • 80% water recovery rates (refilter wastewater to waste less and use more)

  • Built-in UV system

Whole-house RO systems cost more than POU systems and depend on the size of your household. The price for the Penguin All-American RO ranges from $13,684 (1-2 bathrooms) to $16,518 (5 or more bathrooms).

You will also need a sediment 5 micron pre-filter ($99 replaced yearly), a UV bulb ($182 replaced yearly), an RO membrane ($600 replaced every 3-5 years).

Why McKeown Plumbing?

We're Committed to Honesty & Integrity
  • Investigate the Problem Before Making a Decision
  • Utilize the Newest Tools and Best Practices
  • Innovating Ways To Improve Plumbing Solutions
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  • Over 100 Years of Experience
  • Serving Coastal OC for Over 45+ Years
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